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aesars Entertainment announced on Wednesday the appointment of Jacqueline Grace as senior vice president and general manager of Tropicana Atlantic City.
Following this appointment, four of the resort city’s nine casinos will be run by women, the Press of Atlantic City reports. The veteran female executive also becomes the second Black woman in charge of an Atlantic City casino, joining Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa President Melonie Johnson.
Jason Gregoric, who was appointed Tropicana’s general manager when Eldorado Resorts (now Caesars Entertainment) bought the property, was relocated to a Nevada casino within the company.
The appointment shows the changing face of casino leadership in a market, like many others around the country, that has long been led by white men.
“I started my gaming career in Atlantic City, and I’m thrilled to return and join one of the top destinations in the market,” Grace said in a statement. “This is an exciting time for our company, and I’m looking forward to working with the team to further position Tropicana for continued growth and success.”
In addition to Grace and Johnson, the other women at the helm of an Atlantic City casino are Terry Glebocki, CEO of Ocean Casino Resort, and Karie Hall, senior vice president and general manager of Bally’s Atlantic City.
Grace has more than 20 years’ experience in the casino industry, most recently having served as vice president and assistant general manager at Caesars Entertainment’s Horseshoe Baltimore property.
In that role, she helped oversee several expansion projects, including the launch of multiple celebrity chef outlets, an extensive renovation of The Marketplace casual dining area and the opening of The Terrace, a $15 million outdoor gambling and entertainment venue.
Before joining the gambling industry, she spent nine years on Wall Street and held management roles in technology and diversity and inclusion.
She holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stony Brook University.
So far this year, Tropicana ranks fourth out of the city’s nine casinos in terms of overall gambling revenue, with $138 million. That figure is down more than 42% from the first eight months of last year, but this year the coronavirus pandemic forced Atlantic City’s casinos to shut down from mid-March until early July.
